A year’s worth of hard work has paid off, as renovations to the Rhino Memorial Ballfield were completed and opened to the public on Saturday, Apr. 19.
The baseball field, located in the census-designated location of Boston in Elizabeth Township, PA, was constructed near the memorial for Lt. Cmdr. Ronald Lee “Rhino” Wise Jr., an Elizabeth Township native who served in the US Navy until his death in 1998.
The field originally had a grass outfield and clay infield, standard for most traditional baseball diamonds. The facility also had cement block dugouts and rudimentary bleachers, all on dirt flooring.
Among the upgrades were new fencing, fenced-in dugouts, advanced lighting, and upgraded bleachers, all on top of concrete instead of dirt.
The most significant upgrade, however, came on the diamond, as the clay and grass infield was completely replaced with synthetic turf.
“In the spring, you can’t play in the mud, and getting the turf put in allows this to be used shortly after it rains or has a problem,” stated Elizabeth Township Commissioner Adam Musisko when asked about the benefits of the turf.
“Just a much more beautiful facility that you can play on all year”.
John Hyde, project manager for PDDM Solutions, the contractor responsible for the renovations, spoke highly of the turf infield as well.
“[Turf] is becoming more common,” Hyde stated. “It’s less maintenance, it’s more of a consistent surface, you don’t have to groom the field as much as you do with a clay surface.”
Thanks to the renovations, Rhino Memorial Field now has a modular pitching mound and base system, as well as a mobile outfield wall, allowing for maximum compatibility.
“You can change the pitching length depending on the league of play, you can change the base distance depending on the league of play, you can move the outfield wall to different distances,” Hyde added.
“The field can be changed from a tee ball field to a WPIAL-compliant baseball field in around half an hour”.
Youth baseball and softball players and their families were encouraged to attend the event and bring their gloves, bats, and baseballs.
Adults and kids alike took part in breaking in the turf, as Commissioner Musisko was seen hitting fly balls to a group of youth players at the event in between aiding others around the field.
Musisko is very enthusiastic for the renovations, calling the Rhino Memorial Ballpark “one of the gateways to the community.”
The ribbon-cutting event was only half of the ceremony at the renovated Rhino Memorial Ballpark, as Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Jack Suwinski and the Pirate Parrot made appearances to sign autographs.
After the ribbon cutting, the Elizabeth Township Board of Commissioners donned their chef aprons and served hot dogs and french fries to all who attended the event. Musisko estimates that roughly 500 people came to see the Rhino Memorial Field reopened.
The baseball field is also only one of a multitude of projects underway for Elizabeth Township recreation.
“It encouraged us to build this second phase: a fieldhouse with indoor turf, allowing the kids to have somewhere to play all winter and in the bad weather,” Musisko added, enthusiastic for the future of youth sports in Elizabeth Township.
The Elizabeth Township Board of Commissioners also hopes to eventually consolidate all of the area’s recreation in the vicinity of Rhino Memorial Field.
“When the previous commissioners got together and said ‘let’s fix the gateway to the community’… It worked out better than we could’ve imagined”.
“This will be a cornerstone of the area’s development in the future,” Hyde said.
“This field gives the kids of the area a place to learn skills, make friends, and most importantly, have fun.”
